The document discusses how virtual worlds like Second Life can be used for continuing professional education (CPE) and training accountants. It notes that younger professionals are comfortable with interactive online media, and virtual worlds allow for more engaging learning experiences. Several accounting organizations have a presence in Second Life for educational purposes. The document advocates that state CPA societies explore using virtual worlds to better engage members and help with collaboration.

1. CPAs & the virtual world of Second Life Virtual Worlds and CPE - Are you Ready for the Future of Training? Tom Hood, CPA.CITP Maryland Association of CPAs

3. “ If you think about the media environment an average American teenager lives in, to walk into a classroom ( or one of our Associations ) that doesn’t have any of that media must be like walking into a desert.” – Steve Maher, High School teacher PBS Special “Growing Up On-line”

4. Teens & Web 2.0 Some 93% of teens use the internet, and more of them than ever are treating it as a venue for social interaction – a place where they can share creations, tell stories, and interact with others. Source: Pew Internet & American Life project report 64% of online teens have created content on the web – photo sharing, videos, blogs, web pages, mash-ups, and remixes

7. WoW! 15,000,000 users One of the top MMORPGs

8. How has Continuing Professional Education changed?

12. When should you start to pay attention? Moving beyond Second Life marketing, many companies are infiltrating virtual worlds for employee meetings, mixers, and recruiting – Business Week Second Life produces real training results – CLO magazine ASTD Virtual Worlds make Harvard Business Review’s breakthrough ideas for 2008

13. When should you start to pay attention? This is not a game: Virtual Worlds coming to your business Forrester predicts – CIO Magazine Virtual worlds will be widely adopted venues for reaching customers and experimenting with new product ideas and business models – Intuit’s Future of Small Business Report

14. Second Life / Virtual worlds We were first CPA group to have a presence in Second Life

16. Accounting Educators in Second Life Dr. Mike Kraten, CPA Suffolk University Dr. Robert Bloomfield Cornell University Dr. Steve Hornik University of Central Florida

18. CPA Australia is there

19. FASB is there!

24. Accounting Education Pavilion Our pavilion features a place for Colleges & Universities to showcase their accounting education and a place for accounting educators to connect, share, and learn from each other. It is also a place for prospective students to see the many options available in an exciting career as a Certified Public Accountant.

25. New Young Professionals Network Club NYPN on CPA Island Life’s a beach at the Club NYPN on CPA island. This special area devoted to New & Young Professionals has all of the features for networking, casual meetups, and fun. Complete with a dance floor, tiki bars, beach, and a real treehouse – it is the place for students and young professionals to chill.

26. BLI Conference Center A center facilitating the development and sharing of competencies and strategic knowledge required for leadership in the rapidly changing business environment. BLI will deliver competency-based curriculum, courses, content, and community to enhance learning and grow intellectual capital for organizational and executive leadership.

27. CFO of the Future Center Chief Financial Officers are one of the exciting career options many CPAs choose. This building and exhibit is a place to network, collaborate, and co-create resources to help today’s CFO deal with the challenges of today’s rapidly changing business landscape. Join the group SLACPA and look for upcoming events. Visit us at CPA Island http://www.cpaisland.com

28. CPA Firm of the Future Center CPA Firms are dealing with increased business complexity, the proliferation of standards and responsibilities, globalization, and a historic workforce shortage. This center is a place to collaborate and co-create the resources and best practices needed to prosper and thrive in today’s rapidly changing business. Come join the community…

29. BLI Center for Strategic Planning Strategy & leadership are the prerequisites for success in the Next Economy — The Network Economy, the Internet Economy, the Next Economy; all are terms that speak to the new body of knowledge, new strategies, and fundamentally new dynamics which shape not only our economy but our society. This center is a place to share best practices and form a community dedicated to strategic leadership.

30. MACPA Headquarters http://www.macpa.org Our office features a video room, our Board room, offices and additional meeting rooms.

33. “ If the web is reshaping the world as we know it, and will be the water in which the new generation of digital natives will swim, then it behooves all of us to understanding it’s implications.” – David Sibbet – The Grove Consultants Int’l

34. Concentrate on the relationships, not the technologies Remember – It’s not about the technology

36. You can…Ignore it Fight it or Harness it’s power

37. Maryland Association of CPAs – founded 1901 to promote and protect CPAs and help them thrive in the rapidly changing environment – 10,000 members Business Learning Institute – founded in 2000 with a mission to help organizations deliver competency-based curriculum, courses, content and community to enhance learning and grow intellectual capital for organizational and executive leadership Second Life Association of CPAs – founded in 2006 With 238 members and two islands (CPA Island & CPA Island 2) with a mission of building a community of people interested in exploring the possibilities of CPAs in Second Life

38. For more information www.cpaisland.com www.slacpa.org